Lacrosse Community Raises $60,000 for Iraq Vet Brendan Marrocco, Who Lost Both Arms and Legs to a Bo

It was Fourth of July weekend when Mike Voucas first heard about Brendan Marrocco.

And when Voucas finished reading about Marrocco's story, it hit him.

“That could be one of my boys,” Voucas thought.

Voucas, the founder of the Sticks for Soldiers Classic, a charity lacrosse event in Fairfield, Conn., immediately cut out the article and sat it on the kitchen counter for his kids to read. The response from his kids — a 24-year-old daughter, a 21-year-old son and a 17-year-old son — was resounding.

“We have to do something.”

The lacrosse community in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast agreed, raising more than $60,000 with this year's Sticks for Soldiers event the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Marrocco, a Staten Island native, became the first veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to lose all four limbs in combat and survive. There have been others since.

“Any one of his injuries was life-threatening,” Major Jayson Aydelotte, the trauma surgeon told the New York Times. “It’s incredible.”

Other injuries include a severed left carotid artery; broken nose, left eye socket and facial bones; shrapnel to the left eye and face; loss of eight teeth; burns to the neck and face; and a pierced left eardrum.

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Tweny-four teams played in bitter wind and cold in the November event; more wanted to play but there wasn’t enough field space. Voucas said the event will continue next year to benefit more military personnel.

“The donations just exceeded everything we expected,” Voucas said.

Sticks for Soldiers, which had raised $45,000 in its previous four years, topped $60,000 for Brendan in 2010. The host school, Fairfield Ludlowe High, raised more than $15,000. The Connecticut New York Youth Lacrosse Association (CONNY) donated $1,000 and other high schools and groups in the area contributed.

The money was raised not only through event fees, but through hard work off the field. College lacrosse programs throughout the country donated equipment and apparel and players sold Brendan Marrocco bracelets similar to the Lance Armstrong “LiveStrong” bracelets.

The funds are going to a trust fund set up for Brendan. It will help supplement Brendan’s care and extraordinary medical costs and help with some adaptive housings needs. Eventually, the trust will assist other soldiers who were injured in combat adjust to civilian life.

Marrocco always played sports but never lacrosse. But that didn’t matter to the lacrosse community in Connecticut; his story stuck with everyone like it did with Voucas over that Fourth of July weekend.

“The fact that it was a young solider not too much older than a lot of these boys really resonated with everyone,” Voucas said.

And one special guest in attendance — Brendan Marrocco’s father, Alex — agreed.

“I don't see a 24-year-old kid there,” he said referring to his son. “The Army made him grow up quickly. Deep down inside I still see a 17-, 18-year-old kid there. That makes him connect with the kids.

“It was his story that touched people. The fact that he was in the Army and came back the way he did. Once someone hears about him, they feel like they need to do something.”

Alex attends most of the events put on for his son. “When someone takes the trouble to raise some money or put together an event, I try and be there personally.”

He was impressed not only with the professionalism and smoothness with which the event was run, but also how interested and committed the participants were.

“Their level of commitment to the cause. Talking to organizers, I got the sense they were totally committed to it. The community that was there. The brothers and sisters of the kids that were there. They were phenomenal,” he said.

Alex was struck by how much of a learning experience Voucas made the event for the kids. As important as the money was, the message was equally valuable.

“He's not just trying to raise money, but he's trying to teach lessons to the kids,” Alex Morracco said.

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All accounts of Brendan Marrocco say the same thing: It’s amazing how someone who’s suffered such a trying experience is so positive.

Mike Voucas had visited Brendan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center near Washington, D.C., before the event. “He's got his Yankee hat. He talks like a normal kid. It was as though I was talking to my own boy. He's a normal kid, and he's very determined to lead a normal life.”

“Brendan doesn’t feel any self pity. He doesn't have any regrets. He's perfectly comfortable with the decisions he made about joining the Army. He'll tell you that it was the best decision he ever made,” Alex Marrocco said.

Seven players from the Fairfield-Ludlowe boys' lacrosse team, joined by Voucas, coach Chris Parisi and a few key members of the group drove to Staten Island to have dinner with the Marrocco family early this week.

“It was a memorable night,” Voucas said. Brendan, drinking a beer with his prosthetic arm, sat and talked with the kids. “They were laughing it up.”

Toward the end of the night the group drove over to the house being built for Brendan — Alex wanted the kids to see the fruits of their fundraising efforts. Under the light of flashlights, the group said goodbyes and Brendan said a few words of thanks to the kids for their level of commitment, a moving moment for everyone involved.

“He's been so positive from Day 1. He's never looked back,” Alex said. “His entire charge has been to walk again.

“The gratifying thing is that we've never been alone. There's always been someone along with us to support us.”